Zermatt: day 7

Soaking up the early morning sun with another easy day, hiking to Riffelalp. Corbett our fearless leader, guide, EMT, ultra-runner, and book keeper itemizing receipts at the Gandegg hut.

Zermatt: day 6

Did not have the time or inclination to go all the way as it was closed.

Zermatt: day 5

The view from our hut is not too shabby (below)! Folks are a bit fatigued but two easy days are coming up. A great start for Round Lake Campus Expeditions.

Good luck with opening day.

Trift to Schönbielhütte

Yesterday was our longest. We hiked from Trift to the Schönbielhütte. With lunch and rest stops we were on the trail for 8 hours. Fantastic views from Taschhorn to Monte Rosa and on to the Dent d'Herens. We also spent some time gazing up at the North Face of the Matterhorn. 

Hiking up to the Hotel du Trift ...

Uphill all the way, with stops it took us about 2.5 hours, about 2.5 miles and 2500'.

Lucking out with the weather ...

It looks like we will have perfect weather into next week ... something of a rarity in the alps. Heading up to the Trifti Hut in about 90 minutes. If the legs hold up we hope to summit Wisshorn this afternoon.

A great afternoon ...

A little more hiking, time in the museum (to see among other things the rope that broke), and a sobering stroll through the climber's cemetery. The grave in the picture were for the Taugwilders, right next to them was Michel Croz.

Day two in Zermatt

Great morning stretching our legs in the Gorner Gorge and hiking above Blatten and Zum See. Having lunch at a small hut ... potato-celery soup with sausage and prosecco.

First day in Zermatt ...

Flight delays added to a very long day, and so we got to our hotel at 4:30pm. A short hike to Winkelmatten and back helped stretch our legs for 30 minutes.

Last minute packing for Zermatt ...

Lots of crap: rope-small rack-glacier travel gear, hiking kit, and running gear.

First day of summer - June 22 - frost on our pasture

Hard to see and believe, but in the shade at 8 am, the frost had not yet melted. Tough growing season for Selden's garden.

Another gorgeous day in Zermatt plus ...

A good weather report for next week!  Pack your bags, and I will see you in the airport. The first of the Round Lake Campus Expeditions is about to depart. 

The webcam screenshot shows folks milling around at the Gornergrat Hotel.  The mountain in the background, is the Breithorn, with its long Summit ridge. From this vantage point, the two classic routes you can see are the Younggrat which is the obvious left hand ridge curving down from a subsidiary summit. (Geoffrey Winthrop Young did the first ascent prior to World War I.  He was the leading climber of his day, Mallory's mentor, and had he not lost a leg in the war, he would have lead those early Everest expeditions. He did climb the Matterhorn again with a prosthetic leg in 1928.) 

The bulky central snow and ice face to the main summit is the Triftigrat; it was the first route I did in Zermatt in the 1970s.  The "tiny" rock Peak just to the right of the Breithorn is the Kleiner Matterhorn, accessible by the highest cable car in Europe ... I am getting psyched.

Running with my dog on Old Mountain Road

Zermatt itinerary

A week of hiking, followed by bagging four 4000m peaks, and then a half-marathon with 3200 vertical feet of climbing. 

AAC Grand Teton Climber's Ranch

In my my climbing career thus far, I imagine I have spent 40-50 days at this wonderful place. It is still the go to, inexpensive, and cool place to be if you are climbing in the Tetons. Do yourself a favor and join the AAC as well.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2018/06/check-out-these-cheap-camping-options/

Stockpiling snow in the summer ...

Updates on the state of the art in alpine and nordic ski areas response to climate change. 

http://www.planetski.eu/news/10523

Another lap on West Mountain

Heading to Manhattan for some fundraising, and stopped off for a 90 minute hike before sunset. Ten days until I head to the Alps.

Ski Mo studs ...

With Kilian Jornet and other ultra-runners, spending the winter on skis and doing lots of ski mo races, it was only a matter of time before this record caught the sports attention. 

https://www.rei.com/blog/snowsports/the-most-obscure-yet-hotly-contested-ski-world-record

Zermatt: adding more vertical to runs and hikes

The Breithorn, Castor and Pollux, as well as Monte Rosa are on the list.

Another beautiful Adirondack Sunset

Miriam O'brien Underhill ... noted female alpinist

Despite the intensely rigid social structures and gender roles, as evidenced by the quote  below from a famous alpine guide, Miriam broke the mold.  Her 1927 climbs in the Alps blew people's mind.

"The Grépon has disappeared. Of course, there are still some rocks standing there, but as a climb it no longer exists. Now that is has been done by two women alone, no self-respecting man can undertake it. A pity, too, because it used to be a very good climb."                                                                                                                         

Read this short and delightful Adventure Journal essay about a true alpine trailblazer. 

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2018/06/men-mountaineer-miriam-obrien-underhill-dont-need-no-stinkin-men/

Trail running

Time to switch running terrain. The Olympic cross country stadium has the best hills, but I was running on the Ladies 5k race course and it is getting overgrown and muddy. I think it is time to switch to running the single track mountain bike trails on the biathlon side.

Trekking the Huayhush range

The article below talks about running the journey; I will not be running this 80 mile loop, but I do hope to trek it in July 2019. 

https://trailrunnermag.com/destinations/international/half-light-half-dark.html

Yoga on the deck ...

A beautiful morning, 42 degrees, with Street and Nye in the background.

Lucy's biathlon

Setting up the range and working out with Algis Shalna, a U.S. Regional biathlon team coach. (He is a former Lithuanian biathlete with a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.)

Lucy's biathlon goal this year is to be named to the team for the World University Games which will be held Krasnoyarsk in Siberia.

Hiking the TMB and then ...

In August 2019, El Presidente and Hock the Historian will lead a trip for Camp Treetops and North Country School alumni. Hiking hut-to-hut around the 15,781' Mont Blanc.  This 105 mile trek is perhaps the best in all the Alps. The Tour du Mount Blanc starts in Chamonix, goes over a high pass to Italy into Courmayeur, nips into Switzerland, and finally back to Chamonix, France.  We will not run the trail, however the enclosed link to Trail Runner magazine will give you a feel for this amazing adventure. 

https://trailrunnermag.com/destinations/international/the-alps-in-high-style.html

Afterwards, fully fit and acclimated, the two Fossils will spend a month climbing in Chamonix. We are planning a low budget, dirt bag affair ... sleeping under boulders, camping out in closed for the season ski lift buildings, shacking up in unmanned mountain huts, tenting on the Mer de Glacé, with an occasional bed and shower in the Club Vagabond hostel. Our goal is revisiting some of the classics we did - way back when - in the 1970s when we first met. So, the question is ... any other Fossils going to join us? 

Sub-two hours on the Nose

 Mind-boggling really ...

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2018/06/honnold-caldwell-break-two-hours-setting-new-nose-speed-record/

Post graduation treat ...

Heading out for a nice hike on the Porter Loop with Stash.

2018 NCS graduating class

A great school year and a wonderful class, with students from all over America, as well as Beijing, Shenzhen, Kunming, Hong Kong, Mexico City, and Bangkok.

After a week of burning the candle at both ends, I treated myself to some cream puffs before they were put out at the reception.

Big Trips Coming Up ...

Round Lake Campus Expeditions ... a reminder of what's coming up. 
- June 25, 2018 hut to hut hiking in Zermatt 
- January 2019 hiking in Patagonia
- July 2019 trekking the Huayhuash in Peru
- August 2019 hiking hut to hut around Mount Blanc ... 12 days, 106 miles, 34,000 feet of cumulative ascent, and three countries. No rock climbing (picture below) but hiking completely around the biggest mountain in the Alps.

https://www.roundlakecampus.com/rlc-adult-expeditions-zerma…

Honnold talking about his El Cap project

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JmVP1DcLrK0&time_continue=186&ebc=ANyPxKpqwtvPj2pPdSGbzmsSjbhv6cyht7nQfuwdY9YUdPUqIH-k1axW1xKMYGmLSOx7umWPXo7n7MIB58Gqlv2jg2q9XNNI3